An External Communication Audit of the National Tropical Botanical Garden
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2003-04-21 An External Communication Audit of the National Tropical Botanical Garden Jennifer Melody Murdock Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Communication Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Murdock, Jennifer Melody, "An External Communication Audit of the National Tropical Botanical Garden" (2003). Theses and Dissertations. 63. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/63 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. AN EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION AUDIT OF THE NATIONAL TROPICAL BOTANICAL GARDEN by Jennifer Melody Peay Murdock A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Communications Brigham Young University April 2003 Copyright © 2003 Jennifer Melody Peay Murdock All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT AN EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION AUDIT OF THE NATIONAL TROPICAL BOTANICAL GARDEN Jennifer Melody Peay Murdock Department of Communications Master of Arts This study presents the results of an external communication audit of the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG), a congressionally chartered nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of tropical plant diversity. Information was gathered during the communication audit through interviews with NTBG’s key decision makers, content analyses of NTBG’s primary publications, and a questionnaire measuring the public- organization relationship. The audit assesses NTBG’s external communication policies, practices, capabilities, and needs in the context of systems theory and external relations strategic planning theories. The findings of the audit identify who NTBG considers its target publics and how well they are reaching certain audiences. The results also indicate in which areas NTBG’s current communication system is meeting or not meeting the objectives of the organization. The study concludes with a series of recommendations for how NTBG can improve its external communication system. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I express gratitude to my thesis chair, Dr. JoAnn Valenti, for encouraging me to pursue my master’s degree and for staying the course to see me through. I thank the National Tropical Botanical Garden and its directors and staff who so willingly volunteered their time and effort to contribute to this study. I also appreciate my Marriott School colleagues, graduate peers, friends, and family who have faithfully supported me throughout my graduate studies. Finally, I would like to thank my husband, Creed, for his positive attitude, continual encouragement, and tremendous patience. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE—INTRODUCTION........................................................................... 1 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review............................................................................................................ 3 Systems Theory................................................................................................... 3 The Communication Audit ................................................................................. 8 Public Relations Measurements and Strategic Planning..................................... 17 CHAPTER TWO—METHODOLOGY ......................................................................... 24 Initiation and Planning.................................................................................................... 24 Data Gathering and Analysis .......................................................................................... 25 Interviews............................................................................................................ 25 Content Analyses ................................................................................................ 27 Questionnaire ...................................................................................................... 31 CHAPTER THREE—FINDINGS.................................................................................. 35 Interviews........................................................................................................................ 35 Content Analyses ............................................................................................................ 54 Questionnaire .................................................................................................................. 66 CHAPTER FOUR—DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ........................................ 73 Research Summary ......................................................................................................... 73 Limitations ...................................................................................................................... 91 Recommendations for NTBG ......................................................................................... 92 Future Research .............................................................................................................. 107 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 109 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................ 121 vii LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A: Communication Audit Technique Figures.............................................. 121 Appendix B: Research Consent Form........................................................................... 123 Appendix C: Interview Schedule.................................................................................. 124 Appendix D: NTBG’s National Charter ....................................................................... 126 Appendix E: Content Analysis Coding Training Manual............................................. 127 Appendix F: Content Analysis Coding Sheets.............................................................. 130 Appendix G: Course Participant Questionnaire Instrument .......................................... 134 Appendix H: Garden Visitor Questionnaire Instrument. ............................................... 136 Appendix I: Images from NTBG’s Publications ......................................................... 138 : viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: NTBG Primary Publics...................................................................................... 37 Table 2: Desired Action of NTBG Publics...................................................................... 38 Table 3: NTBG Communication Products....................................................................... 41 Table 4: Breakdown of NTBG Outreach Courses ........................................................... 41 Table 5: NTBG Primary Publications.............................................................................. 42 Table 6: Plant Talk Magazine—Summary of Interview Findings................................... 45 Table 7: Outreach Courses—Summary of Interview Findings........................................ 47 Table 8: NTBG Web Site—Summary of Interview Findings ......................................... 48 Table 9: Allertonia—Summary of Interview Findings.................................................... 48 Table 10: Internal Newsletter, Garden Chronicles—Summary of Interview Findings... 49 Table 11: Tour Guide Booklets—Summary of Interview Findings ................................ 50 Table 12: Membership Brochures—Summary of Interview Findings ............................ 50 Table 13: General Garden Information Brochures—Summary of Interview Findings ... 51 Table 14: Gardens of Eden Video—Summary of Interview Findings ............................ 51 Table 15: Rack Cards—Summary of Interview Findings................................................ 52 Table 16: Kahanu Garden Brochure—Summary of Interview Findings......................... 52 Table 17: Allerton Garden Souvenir Brochure—Summary of Interview Findings......... 53 Table 18: Planned Giving Brochures—Summary of Interview Findings........................ 53 Table 19: Publications Mentioned in Analyzed Issues of Plant Talk.............................. 56 Table 20: Number of Times NTBG is Printed in Analyzed Issues of Plant Talk ........... 57 Table 21: Coding Comments Regarding Overall Look of NTBG Publications .............. 66 Table 22: Correlations for Course Participant Questionnaire Results............................. 67 Table 23: Correlations for Garden Visitor Questionnaire Results................................... 68 Table 24: Descriptive Statistics for Course Participant Questionnaire Results............... 70 Table 25: Descriptive Statistics for Course Participant Questionnaire Results............... 71 Table 26: Comparing Means Between Questionnaire Groups ........................................ 72 Table 27. Public Relations Strategic Program Planning Matrix...................................... 97 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Promotion of Charter Purpose #1..................................................................... 61 Figure 2: Fulfillment of Charter Purpose #2...................................................................